There isn’t a single Jacksonville Jaguars fan out there who doesn’t wish they could go back in time and set up a better situation for 2021 No. 1 pick Trevor Lawrence, who had to push through one of the most dysfunctional situations in NFL history. That also applies to the man that drafted him in general manager Trent Baalke, who watched what Lawrence and the Jags had to endure first-hand, too.
However, the Jags started their process of correcting a huge mistake last December when the team fired coach Urban Meyer. Then in February, they found someone to replace him in Doug Pederson, who is a Super Bowl-winning coach with a significant amount of experience in the NFL.
So far, Pederson has done a good job with veering the Jags away from the toxic culture it endured last season. That’s allowed Lawrence to focus on football, and it’s showing, according to Baalke.
Earlier this week, on an appearance on the “O-Zone Podcast,” he said Lawrence looks more confident and has been getting the ball out of his hands quicker.
“He’s just more confident,” Baalke said. “He’s carrying himself with more confidence. He’s delivering the ball quicker. He’s continuing to do that. I’ve seen that through the course of the offseason, getting the ball out of his hands, being more decisive.”
[H/t to the Jaguars Report for transcribing this.]
A part of Lawrence’s decisiveness could be coming from experience as he played in all of the Jags’ games last season. Some of it could also be Pederson and his staff’s ability to connect with quarterbacks. Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles witnessed this first-hand as Pederson and Co. were able to tap into Carson Wentz’s potential early in his career.
Baalke added that he had long been impressed with Lawrence before this point, though. He got to witness the Clemson star’s maturity and leadership first-hand last season as the team endured a lot of turmoil off the field.
“He’s an old soul. He’s a leader, you know, and he does it in his own way, like any good leader does,” Baalke said. “He’s got his own style. But the maturity showed last year was very impressive and he’s continued to build on that as we work through this offseason.”
These reasons sum up why Jags fans have been confident in Lawrence’s ability to rebound from his rough rookie season where he completed just 59.6% of his passes for 12 touchdowns and 17 picks. It’s good to know he’s in a good place as organized team activities are ongoing, and with more time left in the offseason, there is plenty of time to make even more progress.
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